Minnesota Republican Party lays out 'serious concerns' about financial management

The Minnesota Republican Party Monday reported officials found 'questionable decision-making and a lack of accountability' among the 'serious concerns' in the party's financial management over the past several years.

Among the concerns: a more than five-fold increase in monthly credit cards bills, more than $120,000 in payments to Republican candidates and donors between 2009 and 2011, undocumented expense payments to a former executive director, more than $17,000 in payments to investigate legalization of medical marijuana, and questions of responsibility for a recount fund, which owes attorneys more than $719,000 for conducting the 2010 gubernatorial recount.

Despite the litany of examples of 'misreporting' and concerns, the internal review of finances found no 'evidence of theft on the part of anyone' at the Republican Party.

The review of the party's finances began last year, before former Chairman Tony Sutton resigned and nearly all the Republican Party leadership changed. Late last year, the party reported more than $2 million in debt.

Now, officials said, that debt is down to $1.3 or $1.2 million. It is not clear if that debt includes outstanding bills for the recount fund, which officials said they could not discuss in detail given a still-ongoing state campaign finance investigation.

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."